The invention relates to an ultrasonic echography system for the examination of arteries, including a probe with at least one ultrasonic transducer which is connected to an echograph which is formed by a stage for the transmission of an ultrasonic beam, a stage for the reception and a stage for the processing of ultrasonic signals returned to the probe, and a device for displaying the ultrasonic image of the artery to be examined.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention is used in the field of medical echographic imaging and measurement of physiological parameters.
2. Description of Related Art
Ultrasonic echography has increasingly become an effective means for the visualization of tissues, notably arteries, and nowadays it becomes possible to measure physiological parameters with adequate precision. For the examination of an artery, be it to visualize it in a cross-sectional view or to measure the instantaneous velocity of the blood flow therethrough, the handling of the echographic probe by the operator still remains a delicate operation which could cause incorrect interpretation of the image obtained or become a source of errors during quantitative analysis.
One difficulty encountered in the case of quantitative measurement is the correct positioning of the probe with respect to the axis of the vessel (the artery). Correct positioning is to be understood to mean most often a positioning such that the sectional plane formed by the ultrasonic beam, containing the visualized image, extends through the axis of the artery.
With a view to ensure correct measurement of blood velocities, nowadays given criteria concerning the acquisition of data by means of a conventional probe have been defined, irrespective of whether a linear or a curved probe is concerned. For example, the operator has to carry out a measurement five times for an artery segment considered and retains only the three of said five measurements which are closest to one another. However, this technique is long and rather difficult to carry out and certain operators would like to have a shorter but nevertheless more reliable procedure available; this represents a technical problem to be solved. Given the advances made in respect of speed and calculation precision of the echographic techniques, it is now desirable to improve the imaging of arteries so as to facilitate vascular examination and enable acquisition of more reliable vascular data.